Arkady has dedicated his life to the world of ballet. He is known as the bad boy of the dance world, and is an ever rising star. Then he gets injured in what is at first thought to be a tragic accident but turns out to be so much worse. He's lost ballet, and his life feels unbalanced. A friendship with his no-nonsense physical therapist starts him on a new path. He has her friendship, a more honest relationship with his parents, his beloved dog Lou and, for the first time, maybe love in the form of an artist with a disability of his own. But the past isn't done with him yet.

Rise Again

“Being a dancer, being on stage, was my dream since I was a little boy. How can life be anything but bad when my dream has been taken from me?” Arkady asks her. His leg is throbbing in time with his heartbeat. It’s like it’s pulsating, and it’s hard to focus on anything but the pain.


“Do you only have one dream? Or did you dream of other things? We can have new dreams all the time. Honestly, there aren’t words for how much having your dream taken from you sucks, but it doesn’t mean your life’s over.” Prisha has probably seen a lot of badly injured people, others who’ve had dreams taken from them, so maybe she understands, but she hasn’t been in this kind of pain as far as he knows.


Chapter 10